I’ve noticed that there are two ways how parents entertain their children. On one hand, we have everyday training, dance and music classes, additional language classes, and the rest that you’ve noticed in your surroundings as well – that is an example of investing in child’s future, but not in his happiness as well. On the other hand, there are passive kids, that are physically inactive, that are allowed to spend their days with their phones and computers – that gives children short-term happiness, but is not a good investment in their future. If you ask me, both methods are wrong, and the key is to find balance.

The balance, in this case, is boredom.   Let’s look at it from a different perspective – before school teachers, the only teacher was boredom.  

1.”Forget” just for a moment to give children your full attention and get ready for a surprise

One time, I was closely watching a baby that has just learned how to sit on her own. She was discovering her feet. She was looking at them, playing with them, touching them and laughing. And all of that was happening while the rest of us “forgot” to give her our full attention.

Boredom brings out new discoveries. In their free time, first of all, children discover themselves.

When I saw that, I decided to put a toy beside her, to see what will happen. It was the same! She took it, touched it, played with it and discovered a part of a world around her. Children love to learn about their surroundings on their own.  

I remembered what my little sister Milica used to say, which reminded me of how important free time is in later child’s development as well: “Tina, let me tell you a joke that I made up on my own one time I was bored” and “When you come home, I will show you what I made out of toilet paper, when I didn’t know what else to do.” In this case, that “bad” boredom was a trigger for creativity and logic.

Boredom brings out new discoveries. Copyright: Oksana Kuzmina

2. “Tomorrow is Saturday, how do you plan to spend it?”

Free time gives a child a chance to make decisions and to organize his time on his own. You are a superhero for buying him toys, giving him coloring books, chalks, and pens – bet let your child use of all that and organize his playing time when he has nothing else to do.

If you pay attention, you will notice that the way your child organizes his time and makes his decision reflects your behavior.   Your “show and tell” class comes before all of that. So, build a house out of a milk carton or play hop-scotch without stone and chalk. Give an example and then just watch.

What will happen tomorrow, after the primary school, high school and faculty, when it comes time for a child to make his own life plans? At that moment, you will have to let him make all the decisions on his own.

Remember, nevertheless how young is your child, it is not too soon – a grown-up man is a reflection of his early development.  

3. Listen to your child when he is bored

We all know that the “first lesson of parenthood” is listening to your child when he talks to you. But, let’s upgrade that – every day listening to your child when he doesn’t speak to you directly, is even more important. When a child plays with his toys, draws, creates – you can clearly tell who he aspires to become.

Listen to your child at those moments, follow his words, support him and without mistake, you will raise a happy man/woman.  

Boredom is a child’s first teacher because, through play and fun, it pushes him to become independent. Keep in mind the following words of one of the Serbian famous writers, Branko Copic:”It means a lot when you go through life with a feeling of happiness and when that feeling is not lost during childhood.” So, give children some free time to become happy people.  

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There is no doubt that playing is an important tool for every children’s proper development: it helps kids to gain physical skills and social abilities, in addition to contributing to an active and healthy lifestyle “” both for body and mind. However, a certain kind of play has been setting scientists apart as for its pros and cons in children’s personality and in their relations to the surrounding environment.

Superhero: Play or Not to Play?

Playing superhero have become a common means of having fun among children’s groups of friends and colleagues, and even with their parents; when in the shoes of these fictional characters, children are grant a sense of unlimited power and control over the world, feeling responsible for defeating the bad guys and caring for the lives of helpless citizens.

Therefore, some might wonder what is wrong with a child embracing the figures of Superman or Wonder Woman and trying to save the world by any means; well, the thing is that scientific community divides itself to whether playing superhero is more profitable for children’s lives, or more damageable.

Copyright: Rawpixel.com

What Do Those Who Defend Superhero Play Allege?

1. It assists kids with discerning the nature of good and bad

Playing superhero leads children to get to know what is right and what is wrong, as well as concepts such as good and bad, for they differ in their minds who the good guy is, what he does and why people love him so much, the same way they feel aversion to the villain and the things he execute.

2. It helps children to be more patient

A study conducted by psychologists from Wellesley College in United States found out that when wearing a Superman cape and hearing about his incredible abilities, children were able to undergo self-transformation, borrowing traits of the superhero, and easiestly delaying gratification “” that is, inhibiting the prepotent response to immediate gratification for the benefit of a delayed or more valuable reward. Summing up, self-transformation allowed children to adopt Superman’s patience, which most young children lack.

3. It sows confidence

In a world where anything is possible, like that of superheroes, it is very good for kids’ brains and imagination to fictionally put into practice all that which they dream of. Parents, apart from encouraging their children to plunge into the make-believe world of superheroes, should also take part in the fun; this way, they will be contributing to higher levels of confidence and competence within their kids.

4. It encourages cooperative behaviours

According to clinical psychologist Dr Amy Bailey, it is hard for children age 3 to 4 years to distinguish between what is reality and what is mere fiction, what causes them to believe many of Superman’s features are completely possible, such as his superhuman strength. This, in turn, makes kids more likely to be helpful in real life, enhancing their willingness to be cooperative and contributing to working out the issues around.

5. It empowers children

Once children are very dependent upon their parents, having very restrained control over many areas of their lives, whenever they become a superhero they gain access to a not previously possible sense of power, trying out different characters and being able to choose what kind of person they want to be. This, consequently, not only helps them to deal with any turmoil and sense of powerlessness that they hold within themselves, but it also assists them with working out issues of power and control, allowing them to resolve or reduce fears and anxiety.

6. It gives a space to healthier food choices

 In the age of fast foods, obesity and sedentarism rates have never been so high, once that for children, who rarely understand the health consequences of their eating habits, junk food might seem especially appetizing. However, playing superhero might encourage children to ask for healthier orders as they think of what their superheroes would eat.

Copyright: Yuganov Konstantin

What Do Those Who Are against Superhero Play Allege?

1. It gives support to violence

Nowadays, the figure of superheroes has been constantly misrepresented: the good guy who would do the maximum as to avoid a fight has been now seen as an action character who takes part in a scenario of non-stop violence. The superheroes currently admired by many are those sarcastic and aggressive, who aren’t seen talking about how virtuous it is saving others’ lives, but rather how “cool” it is flaunting wealth and luxury, objectifying women, boasting and conveying their destructive guns to their envied manhood.

2. It often disregards age appropriateness

Preschoolers would come out in more profit if they looked up to characters more adequate to their ages, such as Thomas the Tank Engine or Bob the Builder. These figures are able to provide role models of social behavior that sets the basis for more complex contents of good versus evil battles later on.

Do your kids like to play superhero? Do you think it is a good idea? Share your thoughts and experience with us.

The post Playing Superhero: to What Extent Is it Worth the Idea? appeared first on Novak Djokovic Foundation.

Source: www.thenaturalhomeschool.com

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Their desire to do so is driven by their natural instinct to explore and discover using senses and motor actions. Thus they build a storehouse of knowledge about the physical world. Through this and similar outdoor activities children master essential life skills such as problem-solving, ability to focus and respond to changing contexts, as well as decision-making. In other words, exposure to natural settings enhances their cognitive development.

One of the brain’s most important functions is to collect, process and interpret information from the environment so that we can learn how to survive.  In order to understand this process, let us have a look at imaginary life threatening situation:

A pack of hungry wolves is chasing us. They are getting closer and in less than 2-3 minutes they will attack. We have the same time to reach for the shelter where we’d be safe. This is when our brain takes full control over your actions. We need to think quickly and make the right choices as soon as possible. In life threatening situations each step we make, and every detail matters. Our survival depends on all our previous knowledge and experience. We run as fast as we can till we notice a large piece of wood at some 20 metres distance. It’s as high as our hips, like a hurdle. On your right is an abyss; on the left is a thick forest. There’s no other way but to jump over a tree branch. When facing severe danger the brain uses its spare capacities and works seven times faster, in order to be able to process greater number of information than usual. In normal circumstances it takes three seconds for a man to run 20 meters at a full speed. However, we have the impression that the time to get to the branch and jump over it lasts much longer.

Copyright: Monkey Business Images

How does the brain carry out this remarkable feat? People often report the “bullet time” phenomenon, where time appears to be going slow during dangerous events. When faced with a life-threatening situation, our brain is presented with more information per second than it is accustomed to and processes them at a faster intensity in order to make the right move. It’s a survival tactic. In addition, frightening events are associated with richer and denser memories. The more memory we have of an event, the longer we believe it took. Therefore, an illusion of time dilation could facilitate an effective escape.

On our “endless” run towards the branch, the brain records a contrast between the green scenery around us and the branch without leaves. At last it finds a crucial match, linking this situation with the same experience found in our childhood memory, the cracking sound of dry branches beneath our feet while walking through the woods. We suddenly realize that we don’t have to jump over the branch or go underneath it; it’s dry and it will break under our weight.

Copyright: Milosz_G

What would have happened if we hadn’t experienced such activity when we were young? Perhaps we would stop for a moment to think what to do next and lose precious 3-4 seconds, which may even lead to fatal consequences. One of the most important functions of our brain is to receive and process information and create connections between certain regions in cerebral cortex, that positively affect the child’s cognitive skill development.

A child’s neurological system is naturally designed to seek out the sensory input it needs in order to develop into a strong and capable individual. If a child is spinning in circles just for fun, it is because he or she needs that sensory input. Movement and physical play facilitate the development of new connections (synapses) among brain cells and the overall organization of the brain. As these connections develop, child’s fine and gross motor skills, socialization, personal awareness, language, creativity, problem solving and learning ability are improved. This is why they need to climb the trees, jump on the bed, run through the woods, splash in mud puddles. These are all natural and necessary experiences that will encourage their cognitive skill development.

Copyright: Alinute Silzeviciute

However, nowadays it seems that the number of couch potato kids, stuck in their rooms and glued to TV and computer screens is constantly growing.  Due to their physical inactivity, the brain is deprived of important sensory input causing poor stimulation of physiological mechanisms that slowly lose their abilities (dynamic eye accommodation, fixation of the object in motion, complex types of movement involved in running…). Many people share a common belief that video games can benefit the brain by providing the necessary stimulation. However, such activity is contrary to the human evolution process. One of the greatest inventors the world has ever seen, Nikola Tesla, once said that we are the result of a centuries-long continuous adjustment to the natural environment while large and sudden changes in this process can produce unpredictable and possibly catastrophic consequences. Therefore it’s crucial for children to spend more time in natural surroundings and outdoor unstructured play, and to learn by doing in order to stimulate the growth of the cerebral cortex and create more neural networks in the brain and throughout the body.

Parents, from their part, should encourage activities such as jumping, catching a ball, skipping a rope etc. to facilitate the overall development of their children and prepare them for life challenges to come. Rather than say “no” to everything physical they attempt, we should provide them a safe environment to explore and enjoy nature. Springtime rain showers create a lot of mud puddles to splash in and every kid deserves a good pair of boots. Jumping into mud puddles won’t get your kid into a top university. However, the joy they found in doing so is a perfect demonstration of how incredibly beautiful childhood can be. And what it is supposed to be all about.

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In addition to these key benefits, children also build confidence through play. As kids make choices, express emotions, and transform their environment, they are cultivating confidence! Overall, the  50 Reasons to Believe in the Power of Play Infographic  provides compelling evidence that young children need to play more and stress less due to standardized testing.

Source: elearninginfographics.com

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